How Women Can Win and Lead

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Pearls, Politics, and Power is a call to action for new political engagement and leadership from the women of America. Informed by conversations with elected women leaders from all levels, former three-term Vermont Governor and Ambassador to Switzerland Madeleine M. Kunin asks: What difference do women make? What is the worst part of politics, and what is the best part? What inspired these women to run, and how did they prepare themselves for public life? How did they raise money, protect their families' privacy, deal with criticism and attack ads, and work with the good old boys?

Kunin's core message is that America needs an infusion of new leadership to better address the major problems of our time. To see how women can achieve that goal, she combines her personal experience in politics; the lessons of past women's movements; the stories of young women today who have new ideas about their role in society; and interviews with a wide range of women in positions of power, looking for clues to their leadership, as well as the effects of gender stereotyping. She interviews Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, analyzes her campaign, and addresses the question: "Is the country ready?" Other interviewees include U.S. Representatives Loretta Sanchez, Linda Sanchez, Deborah Pryce, and Tammy Baldwin, and U.S. Senators Susan Collins, Amy Klobuchar, and Carol Moseley Braun, and Governors Kathleen Sibelius and Janet Napolitano.

The next generation of women will be inspired to lead by seeing women like Nancy Pelosi wielding the gavel, and seeing themselves reflected in the portraits in statehouses, courthouses, corporate and university boardrooms, and the White House. Pearls, Politics, and Power will help ensure that this inspiration is not soured or deflected, but channeled into successful candidacies by America's leaders of tomorrow. What will it take for women to assume their rightful places in the political corridors of power?

REVIEWS AND PRAISE

"Women who have lived politics tell it best. They are the exemplars who can attract new generations of young women to public leadership. Herself a pioneer in the modern history of women's political leadership, Madeleine Kunin knows of what she speaks. She brings direct experience, knowledge, and wisdom to a subject close to her heart--the challenges and satisfactions for women who take the plunge into political life. It's one matter to tell people about the challenges facing women in politics. It's another to write the story so that people will want to read it. With her vast personal experience as a political leader and her considerable gifts as a writer, Madeleine Kunin offers a new generation both pearls of wisdom and practical lessons in the real-life, nuts and bolts of politics. Her book is jam packed with information and examples to illustrate the lessons she offers. She draws on her own fascinating life throughout the book as well as on the experiences of a great variety of interesting political women of many ages serving in many kinds of positions. There is also history, current facts, and solid advice--something for everyone but especially young women and girls interested in a readable book about what life is like for women in politics and why they, too, should answer the call. The book is personal as well as political and, above all, pedagogical, in the best sense: it aims to educate through a mix of information and inspiration."--Ruth B. Mandel, Director, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University

"Here's the book we've been waiting for--an insider's view of the role of women in politics by one of America's most distinguished public servants. Governor, federal executive, ambassador, Madeleine Kunin has seen it all. And her keen eye and deep understanding of the challenge of gender in wielding power has produced a wonderfully insightful book that should be read by every woman--and man--who wants to lead."--Robert B. Reich,former U.S. Secretary of Labor and Professor of Public Policy, University of California at Berkeley

"Madeleine Kunin makes an impassioned and informed plea for women, especially younger women, to enter politics. There is no doubt in my mind that our country and the world would be a far better place if the 'feminine values' of compassion and nurturing were to achieve their rightful place in our nation's governance. As she says, it's a wonderful thing to donate $10 to fight breast cancer, but it's a far more powerful thing to shift millions of dollars of government money to finding a cure."--Ben Cohen, co-founder, Ben & Jerry's

"Women have always provided leadership in their families, their community, and their country. Pearls, Politics, and Power takes this influence to a different leadership level. A great read for an understanding of the need for continued involvement."--Senator Nancy Kassebaum

"Every page is indelibly stamped with one word: impact. Governor Kunin clearly and compellingly captures the deep and lasting impact women have had and can have on American politics."--Ilana Goldman, President, Women's Campaign Forum

"Kunin gives us thoughtful advice on how women can lead change. A wonderful, insightful book."--Donna E. Shalala, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services

"Once again, Madeleine Kunin gives us a thoughtful examination of women's roles in American politics. In an effort to engage more women in the political process, Kunin uses not just her story, but the stories of elected women from both parties and all levels of office. She skillfully weaves these together to illustrate the challenges women face in running for and holding office as well as the tremendous rewards that come from public service. These stories illustrate the concerns women have about running for office in the first place, the realities they face as officeholders and the difference they make by being there. What a useful tool this book will be in the classroom to teach about the experiences of women in politics and to educate the next generation of women for public leadership."--Debbie Walsh, Director, Center for American Women and Politics, Rutgers University

"Madeleine Kunin has written a fabulous 'how to' book for women who want to make a difference in their communities, states or the nation. Drawing on her own experience and a rich trove of interviews with women in political positions at all levels, she gives practical advice on how to get started, survive the stresses of public life, and make change happen. This slim, lively book is a must read whether you want to be more effective in your community or aspire to change the world."--Alice Rivlin, former Director, Office of Management and Budget

"We women who have devoted our time and resources to taking on political leadership roles must also motivate, inspire, and mentor other women to surge into the ranks of politics. Governor Kunin's book is an excellent resource--and a must read. It lays out the chutzpah for tackling politics. She says, 'The worried mother syndrome is an effective catalyst for social change.' We worried mothers must act."--Swanee Hunt, former Ambassador to Austria and Director of the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government

"Part memoir, part manual, leavened with poignant interviews, testimonies, practical truths and (best of all) the passion of a wise and temperate activist, Kunin's work manifests two rarities in the modern world: scholarly politicians and readable scholarship. This book should become part of the women's studies curriculum in every college and university in America and is perfectly appropriate for senior level courses in public affairs in high schools throughout the land. Fair, honest, and civil--a magnificent achievement by a remarkable woman." --Frank Bryan, John G. McCullough Professor of Political Science, University of Vermont

"In Pearls, Politics, and Power, Governor Kunin lays out the what, why, and wisdom of women's political involvement not only in the US but throughout the world. It is especially relevant today in light of Senator Clinton's presidential campaign and the forces impacting it because she is a woman. Interesting and informative, it is a must read for every woman who cares about having government make a difference for her children and grandchildren and is looking for a way to make that happen."--Geraldine A. Ferraro,former Member of Congress and 1984 Democratic Nominee for Vice President

"Madeleine Kunin's story is instructive and inspiring--a must read for those who dare to seek elective office. It is a powerful book, based on real experience."--Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Senior Managing Director, Lazard Freres

"This book provides a rare insight of what it is like to run for office and win. Kunin listens to the voices of women who have been there--at the local, state, and national levels. She is inspirational, informative, and timely, calling for women to jump into the fray and make a difference for our country."--Ellen Malcolm,President, EMILY's List

"A natural storyteller, Kunin combines her personal journey in politics with the stories of dozens of female politicians. Writing with wisdom, intelligence and warmth, she provides a guide for women at all levels who might seek to enter public life while at the same time shedding light on the challenges facing Hillary Clinton as she strives to become the first female president. The timing of this excellent book could not be better."--Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and biographer

"Madeline Kunin had to imagine herself as a woman leader when those two words rarely came together. Now she teaches us from her experience, and helps us imagine the next leap into the future."--Gloria Steinem

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Madeleine Kunin

Madeleine M. Kunin was the first woman governor of Vermont, and served as the Deputy Secretary of education and Ambassador to Switzerland under President Bill Clinton. She is the author of Living a Political Life (1995) Pearls, Politics, and Power (2008)and The New Feminist Agenda: Defining the Next Revolution for Women, Work, and Family (2012). She is currently a Marsh Scholar Professor-at-Large at the University of Vermont where she lectures on history and women's studies. She also serves as president of the board of the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC), a nongovernmental organization that she founded in 1991. She lives in Burlington, Vermont.

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Feminists opened up thousands of doors in the 1960s and 1970s, but decades later, are U.S. women where they thought they'd be? The answer, it turns out, is a resounding no. Surely there have been gains. Women now comprise nearly 60 percent of college undergraduates and half of all medical and law students. They have entered the workforce in record numbers, making the two-wage-earner family the norm. But combining a career and family turned out to be more complicated than expected. While women changed, social structures surrounding work and family remained static. Affordable and high-quality child care, paid family leave, and equal pay for equal work remain elusive for the vast majority of working women. In fact, the nation has fallen far behind other parts of the world on the gender-equity front. We lag behind more than seventy countries when it comes to the percentage of women holding elected federal offices. Only 17 percent of corporate boards include women members. And just 5 percent of Fortune 500 companies are led by women.

It's time, says Madeleine M. Kunin, to change all that. Looking back over five decades of advocacy, she analyzes where progress stalled, looks at the successes of other countries, and charts the course for the next feminist revolution--one that mobilizes women, and men, to call for the kind of government and workplace policies that can improve the lives of women and strengthen their families.

The New Feminist Agenda with Madeleine M. Kunin

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Scientists have devised a new term to explain the turmoil caused by climate change: the end of stationarity. It means that our baselines for rainfall, water flow, temperature, and extreme weather are no longer relevant—that making predictions based on past experience is no longer possible. But climate change has upended baselines in the financial world, too, disrupting the global economy in ways that are just becoming clear, leaving us unable to assess risk, and causing us to fundamentally re-think economic priorities and existing business models.

At the heart of that financial unrest is the role of carbon, and as the world moves toward making more and more polluters pay to emit it, a financial mystery unfolds: What are the costs? Who has the responsibility to pay for them? Who do you pay? How do you pay? And how will those costs ripple through the economy?

These are the questions veteran journalist Mark Schapiro attempts to answer as he illuminates the struggle to pinpoint carbon's true costs and allocate them fairly—all while bumping up against the vagaries of the free market, the lobbying power of corporations, the political maneuverings of countries, and the tolerance of everyday consumers buying a cup of coffee, a tank of gas, or an airplane ticket.

Along the way, Schapiro tracks the cost of carbon through the drought-ridden farmland of California, the jungles of Brazil, the world's greatest manufacturing center in China, the carbon-trading center of Europe, and the high-tech crime world that carbon markets have inspired. He even tracks the cost of carbon through the skies themselves, where efforts to put a price tag on the carbon left by airplanes in the no-man's land of the atmosphere created what amounted to a quiet but powerful global trade war.

The End of Stationarity deftly depicts the wild, new carbon economy, and shows us how nations, emerging and developed, teeter on its brink. Originally published in hardcover as Carbon Shock, the book is updated throughout and includes a new afterword, based on the Paris climate talks.

Feminists opened up thousands of doors in the 1960s and 1970s, but decades later, are U.S. women where they thought they'd be? The answer, it turns out, is a resounding no. Surely there have been gains. Women now comprise nearly 60 percent of college undergraduates and half of all medical and law students. They have entered the workforce in record numbers, making the two-wage-earner family the norm. But combining a career and family turned out to be more complicated than expected. While women changed, social structures surrounding work and family remained static. Affordable and high-quality child care, paid family leave, and equal pay for equal work remain elusive for the vast majority of working women. In fact, the nation has fallen far behind other parts of the world on the gender-equity front. We lag behind more than seventy countries when it comes to the percentage of women holding elected federal offices. Only 17 percent of corporate boards include women members. And just 5 percent of Fortune 500 companies are led by women.

It's time, says Madeleine M. Kunin, to change all that. Looking back over five decades of advocacy, she analyzes where progress stalled, looks at the successes of other countries, and charts the course for the next feminist revolution--one that mobilizes women, and men, to call for the kind of government and workplace policies that can improve the lives of women and strengthen their families.

Advocates and teachers often find it difficult to communicate the complexities of climate change, because the people they are trying to reach hold so many mistaken assumptions. They assume, for example, that when climate change becomes an obvious threat to our everyday lives, there will still be time enough to make changes that will avoid disaster. Yet at that point it will be too late. Or they assume we can use our current paradigms and policy tools to find solutions. Yet the approaches that caused damage in the first place will cause even more damage in the future.

Even the increasingly dire warnings from scientists haven’t shaken such assumptions. Is there another way to reach people?

The simple, interactive exercises in The Climate Change Playbook can help citizens better understand climate change, diagnose its causes, anticipate its future consequences, and effect constructive change. Adapted from The Systems Thinking Playbook, the twenty-two games are now specifically relevant to climate-change communications and crafted for use by experts, advocates, and educators. Illustrated guidelines walk leaders through setting each game up, facilitating it, and debriefing participants. Users will find games that are suitable for a variety of audiences—whether large and seated, as in a conference room, or smaller and mobile, as in a workshop, seminar, or meeting.

Designed by leading thinkers in systems, communications, and sustainability, the games focus on learning by doing.

Big government, big business, big everything: Kirkpatrick Sale took giantism to task in his 1980 classic, Human Scale, and today takes a new look at how the crises that imperil modern America are the inevitable result of bigness grown out of control—and what can be done about it.

The result is a keenly updated, carefully argued case for bringing human endeavors back to scales we can comprehend and manage—whether in our built environments, our politics, our business endeavors, our energy plans, or our mobility.

Sale walks readers back through history to a time when buildings were scaled to the human figure (as was the Parthenon), democracies were scaled to the societies they served, and enterprise was scaled to communities. Against that backdrop, he dissects the bigger-is-better paradigm that has defined modern times and brought civilization to a crisis point. Says Sale, retreating from our calamity will take rebalancing our relationship to the environment; adopting more human-scale technologies; right-sizing our buildings, communities, and cities; and bringing our critical services—from energy, food, and garbage collection to transportation, health, and education—back to human scale as well.

Like Small is Beautiful by E. F. Schumacher, Human Scale has long been a classic of modern decentralist thought and communitarian values—a key tool in the kit of those trying to localize, create meaningful governance in bioregions, or rethink our reverence of and dependence on growth, financially and otherwise.

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